SUM VENTURES
 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER 
 "Supporting founders drives superior ROI"
 

SUM THOUGHTS

Dear SUM Ventures Community,

I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who supported and participated in the recent SUM Ventures LP Summit. Your engagement was crucial to the event's success, and I am truly grateful.

We've made the event recording available for those who couldn't join. Please access it through this link: LP Summit Recording. It's packed with insightful content, especially in the latter half, where our founders share their remarkable journeys.

One of the summit's highlights for me was sharing the achievements of our founders. Their stories of drive and determination are incredibly inspiring. Below are five founders/ CEOs I want to highlight heading into 2024 and a few predictions about the trajectory of their startups. At the end of the year, we will revisit these predictions and goals to see how we performed. 

Let me spotlight a few exceptional founders:

• Pablo Martini (ClearClub) has navigated a challenging financial landscape to build the leading direct-to-consumer night guard brand, boasting 50,000 customers and $1.2M in recurring revenue, setting ClearClub on a path to profitability. 
• Prediction: ClearClub will become profitable by July of 2024.
• Kevin Cimring (Paperwork) embodies resilience, developing a crucial financial wellness solution and securing adoption through the credit union channel, with notable partnerships including Baxter Credit Union, Target, and First Tech Credit Union.
• Prediction: Paperwork closes seed extension and ends 2024 with 5 CUs under contract.
• Lea Ellermeir (Brius) has led an extraordinary turnaround, pulling the company back from the brink of bankruptcy to secure over $10M in new funding and forge significant partnerships in Japan.
• Prediction: Brius sees exponential growth in Asia in 2024 and is well positioned to close Series B to begin 2025.
• Giorgi Chigogidze (Purlin) is revolutionizing home searching and purchasing with advanced data and AI, marking a significant milestone for Purlin.
• Prediction: Purlin will launch the Douglas Elliman website this summer and announce another top 5 brokerage customer by August of 2024.
• Venkatesh Ganapathy (Live Easy) proves that perseverance pays off, transforming Live Easy into a comprehensive home management platform on track to surpass $4M in revenue.
• Prediction: Recent SAAS offering drives Live Easy to profitability in 2024

I encourage you to reach out to these founders to explore how you might support their growth, whether through networking or direct investment.

Here is what you can expect from SUM Ventures in 2024:

1. Direct, honest, and consistent monthly communication and meetings
2. Strive to be the top-performing fund in your portfolio (IRR)
3. SUM Ventures will receive SBIC 'green light' approval in 2024 
4. Launch Fund II and begin deploying capital in Q4
5. An increase in SPV's for direct investments
6. More in-person events to connect our LPs 
7. Grow our team of value-added investors for portfolio founders, including professional athletes
8. Build upon our growing and impressive team: Elizabeth, Nachi, John, Peter, Derek, and Harry
9. Increased focus on how SUM can add value by leveraging our deep bench of AI resources
10. Continue to shamelessly promote founders and our partners both in the portfolio and outside through this newsletter and on social media

Learn More

• SUM Website, where you can see the latest news from our portfolio companies
• SUM Youtube Channel where you can view our monthly Mtgs and Founder Testimonials
• SUM Deck here (password SUM)
• SUM Executive Summary here (password SUM)
• Please view our recent Holiday Zoom event for our portfolio highlights

• We are excited to welcome Amanda Hinchey and Derek Hu to our growing team of LPs and advisors, enriching our team with their diverse expertise.

Thanks to our growing team for sharing deal flow, supporting our founders, and helping with diligence. John Paglia, Mike Van Kempen, Peter Jun, Elizabeth Spears, Harry Hopper, Peter Mansfield, Marcus Yang, Sally Dewitt, Ian Sobieski, Ksenia Yudina, Mark Belinksky, Nachi Gupta, Ken Borkan, Martha Stein, Stender Sweeney, Adam Korman, Millicent Tracey, Tim Sabean, Frank Mastrangelo, Tammo Mueller, Jon and Jacob Walker, Andrey Kudievskiy, Dan Sachar, Jason Bennett, Kammron Taylor, Kevin Herzberg, Amy Wood, Hunter Ballard, and Aike Mueller. Another big thank you to our strategic partners who support our portfolio founders.

1. Douglas Elliman (Real estate brokerage)
2. Distillery (Software Development)
3. Quantiva (Software/Product Development)
4. UpTech (App Design and Development)
5. Grafted Growth (Lifecycle Marketing and Growth)
6. Pepperdine Most Fundable Companies Program (Deal Sourcing and Diligence)
7. Siemens Advanta

Thank you for being a part of our journey. Here's to a year of health, happiness, and unparalleled success!

Best,
Garrett Gilbertson
 

SUM Portfolio Updates

Automotus  

• Industry: Transportation + Smart Cities
• Stage: Series A
• Signed a contract with the City of Aurora's Onlight Aurora for a $2.1M 3-year contract
• Signed $70M 4-year contract with Miami
• 3000+ cameras under contract, each generating $7,000 per year in revenue on average. I
• Implemented ticket-by-mail in Pittsburgh and Pikeville.
• Finalizing curb management solutions for St Augustine, FL.
• Launched SMART grant project with Miami-Dade County.
• Recognized as a GovTech 100 company and featured in industry publications.
• Jordan Justus Automotus (CEO) was featured in Parking Today
• Terms: Closed $9M Seed Round featured in Tech Crunch here.

Pay Amigo  

• Industry: FinTech
• Stage: Seed
• Terms:  We invested in the seed at a $12m post-money valuation alongside the founders
• SUM Ventures is the only VC seed investor invited to participate
• Launched Pay Amigo in Brazil and will soon launch in Argentina
• $2M in revenue in the first six months
• Secured nine merchants contributing $9M in Annual Contract Value (ACV).
• Established six referral partnerships to enhance business network and reach.
• Achieved a live presence in Brazil, generating $1.6M in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).
• 2024 expansion roadmap targets Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Chile, India, Morocco, and South Africa.
• Focused on an $8M Seed capital raise to support expansion, marketing, sales, and raising the company's profile.

Plantswitch 

• Industry: CleanTech
• Stage: Series A
• Terms:  We invested $250,000 at a 10% discount to Series A in March.
• Received multiple term sheets and will soon close Series A.
• $307k new revenue, 38 new customers 
• LOI from manufacturing partner Westfall Technik
• Yum! Brands partnership discussions ongoing
• Dr. Aditya Jindal has joined the team as Senior Scientist to lead R&D efforts.
• Collaborations with ADM and Siemens promise advancements in technology and product offerings, including feedstock sourcing opportunities and supply chain monitoring.
• Q1 2023 sales finished up 139% YoY
• Repurpose is considering switching to their cutlery after they launch their new facility, an approximately $10M annual opportunity 
• Launched a 52,000 sq. ft. North Carolina facility 

DressX  

• Industry: Digital Fashion 
• Stage Series A
• Series A announcement in Forbes
• Top selling digital fashion brand in Meta & Roblox outperforming brands like Prada 
• Warner Media and DressX Partnership Vogue article here
• https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/metas-avatars-just-got-a-fashion-upgrade-with-dressx
• Link to CNN interview of CEO Daria Shapovalova here
• Completed four funding rounds in one year, accelerating growth.
• Leverages gaming skins, Snapchat, and Instagram for digital fashion distribution.
• Featured in Forbes highlighting Series A Post Money Announcement:
• Mark Zuckerberg featured DressX at MetaConnect (video link here, minute 58:30). 
• Terms: SUM invested $500k alongside ten other funds/ CVCs, including Slow Ventures. Garrett currently serves as a Board Observer. 

Purlin 

• Industry: AI/ PropTech 
• Stage: Seed
• Metrics: Just signed a $4m revenue contract with Douglas Elliman
• Launched Maya AI chatbot in collaboration with the Eklund Gomes team.
• Received $2M investment commitment from Rice Park Capital (strategic customer/partner)
• Securing placement on upcoming Netflix show and investment from Eklund Gomes top-performing US real estate agents 
• Fast-tracking DE website revenue commercialization for early transition.
• Expanding non-DE revenue with significant partnerships and business development.
• Terms:  We co-lead this investment with Douglas Elliman at a $16m pre-money valuation. SUM Ventures received the Board Seat, and Douglas Elliman will serve as Board Observers. Redwood Trust and Eklund Gomes also participated in the financing.

Irrigreen 

• Industry: CleanTech
• Stage: Seed
• 600K per month in revenue
• Since seed funding CAC has dropped in half 
• Tech Crunch Feature
• Making significant progress on longer-range sprinkler systems for commercial use
• Online D2C conversion rates improving, driving down CAC 
• Terms: We completed our $200k investment alongside Ulu Ventures (lead investor). SUM was the last money in the seed round.

• Industry: PropTech
• Stage: Seed (now raising Series A)
• Terms: We invested alongside Douglas Elliman at a $15m post-money valuation 
• Live Easy has now closed 4/6 largest real estate brokerages as customers and will soon add  250k agents through two new customers
• Launching SAAS offering with two brokerages
• LiveEasy supports 275,000 real estate agents, impacting over 1M homebuyers and 10M homeowners.
• Achieved a 77% CAGR over five years, with $3.4M revenue in 2023, marking a 30% YoY growth.
  Established over 100 direct dealer partnerships with national and regional providers and secured a $2M SaaS deal over five years.
• Targets $8.8M in revenue for 2024, aiming for SaaS to constitute 40% of total revenue by 2028, focusing on B2C and B2B growth.
• Plans to expand national strategic partnerships and discussions with major firms like KW and IKEA are underway.
• Series A financing co-led by Travelers Insurance and Moderne Ventures.  Read more here. 

Brius  

• Industry: Medical Device
• Stage: Seed + Series A
• Terms: We invested in the seed at a $10m valuation and the Series A-1 at $30M valuation
• Closed recent $10M raise
• Multiple patents issued on the device (self-driving braces that sit behind the teeth)
• Significant interest was generated from the recent AAO conference
• The new CEO is the only person to sell a lingual orthodontics company
• A strong network of co-investors, including Sonder Capital, Invus, GT Healthcare, and Woori (Formerly KTB Capital)
• Expanded executive team with Ruedger Rubbert as CTO, Joe Breeland as CCO, and Matt Franklin as CFO.
• Enhanced IP with 17 patent families, 16 issued patents, and 4 US/international trademarks.
• Entered Japan via a partnership with SheepMedical, aiming to become a leading DSO with 52 clinics.
• Projected $5M revenue in the first year in Japan, underscoring significant growth potential.

Eduworks  

• Industry: Artificial Intelligence 
• Stage: Seed + Series A
• Terms: We invested in the seed at a $15m valuation and the Series A-1 at $30M valuation
• Closed recent $1M raise
• $15M+ in non-dilutive funding from DARA + SBIR + AFRL
• Multiple patents issued on technology
• Secured $15M in nondilutive funding from reputable entities like DARPA and AFRL.
• Remarkable growth in recent times:
• Over $5M in revenue just a few months into their fiscal year.
• They have already achieved half of their $10M target for 2023.
• Gained a $1 million funding boost for TIDES.
• Renewed contracts with aviation leader Boeing.
• Launched human performance language model, NLighten:
• Projects financed by the NSF and Chamber of Commerce foundation.
• Rolled out AI chatbot, Extension Bot:
• Endorsed by the State of California.
• Positioned to revolutionize human-AI interactions.

 Paperwork 

• Industry: Financial Wellness
• Stage: Seed
• Baxter Credit Union (BCU)
• Expect to sign a partnership with a 40M+ member organization (confidential for now), making Paperwork the app solution for members and their marketplace of record--this company is also an investor in Paperwork 
• Released case study with BCU
• Featured at CES with AARP and secured a distribution partnership with BALANCE for over 350 credit unions.
• Future strategies involve syndicated deals and investments from notable entities like Launchpad Capital and AARP.
• Aims to maintain a competitive edge with a low Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) in the Fin-tech sector.
• Focused on penetrating the credit union market and expanding into the employer vertical through key partnerships.
• The program is now being rolled out to more company partners, including HCA Healthcare (250,000 employees), Uber Fleet, and others
• Andrew Lendnal, previous head of Financial Wellness at Morgan Stanley At Work, joins the advisory boardPaperwork team in Chicago working on a release with BCU 300k members and partners (see press release). AARP is next up (40M members)
• Terms: We recently invested in their seed terms ($12m post-money valuation); other investors at these terms are Launchpad Capital and Kickstart VC. Founders previously sold their startup Jemstep to Invesco. 

ClearClub

• Industry: Healthcare
• Stage: Seed 
• Invested alongside Rogue Venture Partners, Sonder Capital, AOA, and NuFund.
• ClearClub will exceed $2M in revenue (50% subscription revenue) this year
• ClearClub is building the Dollar Shave Club for oral wellness and has 38k customers to date with 3,800 5-star reviews! They are the current market leader in their space, and we expect Pablo (CEO) and his team to build on their leadership position while achieving profitability in the next six months
• Projected to achieve cash flow positivity by Q2 2024.
• Expanding B2B channels with 1,000 dentists and 100 gyms onboarded.
• Established market leadership in the custom mouthguard sector.
• Garnered over 50,000 customers and received 5,000+ reviews.
• High lifetime value to customer acquisition cost ratio of 8x.
• Terms:  $6M Post-Money SUM receives a Board Seat. 

Living Popups 

• Industry: EdTech
• Stage: Seed 
• Terms:  We made a $50,000 pre-seed investment alongside strategic angels and received additional warrants (totaling 1%)
• Product Demo
• Preliminary Analytics: 95% of students responded that LP popups increase reading enjoyment. 
• LP welcomed new team members, including a fractional CFO and VP of Global Strategy and Operations
• Focusing on Creator Tool for scalable content creation.Released a new beginning reader chapter book to support children's social-emotional wellbeing
• Upcoming event: Tina will attend the ASU GSV Summit in San Diego, and LP will be at the Texas Library Association meeting in Austin.

Sweat Pals 

• Industry: Health & Wellness
• Stage: Pre-Seed
• Terms:  We invested $ 50,000 at a $6M Post Money valuation alongside Sweater VC, Antler VC, and other strategic angels, including the founder of HotelTonight, early employees at Uber, Snap, and Google, and a syndicate of top CEOs and Fortune 500 leaders in YPO association.
• SweatPals is a platform connecting fitness enthusiasts and communities, streamlining events, payments, and content for a healthier, social lifestyle. SweatPals empowers leaders to organize and manage their communities in a centralized location while offering consumers a vibrant social experience to connect with each other.
• SweatPals has grown organically through word of mouth and referrals (with a $0 user acquisition cost), amassing 200+ active communities and over 8,500 active users 
• Monthly retention among community leaders is 92%, and all users are 63%.
• SweatPals is launching in Miami next month due to demand from users there, then Denver and San Diego. SweatPals aims to launch nine additional markets by early 2024.
• Last month, SweatPals generated $15K in GMV and has had $12K in revenue so far.

Grapefruit Health 

• Industry: SAAS Healthcare
• Stage: Pre-seed
• Terms:  We invested $50,000 $6M Post Money SAFE
• Closed $1.3M oversubscribed pre-seed
• Won $250k investment from Barnburner pitch competition, waiting to sign SAFE/wire transfer
• Potentially entering diligence on another $550k+ investment with two investors
• Finalist for AWS Latinx Impact Fund, potentially receiving $125k + $100k in AWS credit
• Sales pipeline at $6M, up from $5M
• Grapefruit Health Raises $1.3M Oversubscribed Pre- seed Round To Address The Massive Staffing Shortage In Healthcare
• Contracting with the University of Chicago Medicine, Ballad Health, Optu & San Francisco VA
• Expect to be in contract with 2-3 more by end of Q2

UNest 

• Industry: FinTech
• Stage: Series B
• Terms:  We invested in the seed at an $8m post-money valuation and rolled $150,000 of equity into the fund
• Reached over 600K total users (parents and kids)
• Exceeded $30M in total AUM
• Partnership with iHeartRadio began in February
• Laura Dern brand ambassador article
• Good Morning America feature
• Initiating $4M Series C Preferred Stock financing led by SUM Venture Partners.
• Raised $1.5M in Convertible Notes as part of Series C Financing.
• Implementing cost reduction strategies and exploring strategic partnerships.
• Welcoming new COO with extensive industry experience.

Berri Organics

• Industry: Beverage 
• Stage: Seed
• Terms: $18m post-money valuation 
• Scaling through Whole Foods and Target
• Presented to Band of Angels in September
• Near signing key brand ambassador
• Achieved major retail launches and a successful capital raise.
• Reported growth in U.S. sales, despite global revenue dip.
• Appointed new Head of Sales to drive expansion and partnerships.
• Focused on expanding retail presence and securing additional financing.

Rotender 

• Industry: Robotics
• Stage: Pre-seed
• Terms: $12m post-money valuation New customer Terranea resort in Palos Verdes, renting two units at $2,500/month each and a $7,500/unit branding fee
• Onboarding brand partners who will pay to wrap the machine
• Success in this deal can set a standard for selling branded machines to other venues.

Breakr

• Industry: Adtech
• Stage: Seed
• Terms: $20 m post-money valuation
• Check Out their Tik Tok
• Breakr Video Intro - 1 minute
• Featured In Billboard 

• Industry: Adtech
• Stage: Pre Seed
• Terms: $6 m post-money valuation
• Received approval to launch in the app store 
• Will soon launch a beta test with the University of Hawaii. View the demo here.
• Successfully launched SDK
• SXSW partnership will soon launch
• Launched IOS App at the University of Hawaii
• Secured $100K Angel funding and won the PortAventura pitch competition.
• Launched pilot with PortAventura and engaged with Wayra for potential investment.
• Finalized SXSW contract and developed marketing materials.
• Expanded team with key hires in software engineering and AI.

• Industry: Fintech
• Stage: Pre Seed
• Terms: $6 m post-money valuation
• National launch with Aventiv, targeting 7,000 paid accounts.
• Participating in AWS GovTech startup program, achieving significant AWS milestones.
• Final product enhancement by the Quantiva team

• Industry: Cyber Security
• Stage: Seed
• Terms: $20 m post-money valuation 2x Liquidation preference
• Anticipating deal closures in early 2024, with a strong Q2 outlook in Japan.
• Integrating AI, including ChatGPT, into product offerings.
• Actively exploring exit opportunities, boosted by AI advancements.
   

SUM Events

SUM Fund Materials

• SUM Executive Summary (password SUM)
• SUM Ventures video 
• SUM Ventures September Mtg
• SUM Deck (password SUM)
• Summary of Terms

SUM Mission

Startup Mavericks Ventures (SUM) is a seed-stage venture capital firm founded by Garrett Gilbertson and Mike Van Kempen. At SUM our goal is to be the top-performing seed fund. To be clear, we have no desire to be the largest seed fund; we aim to have the highest IRR. This goal is only achievable with the support of our 50+ LPs, advisors, and strategic partners who have given their time, capital, and guidance to support our founders. Through our collective focus on identifying promising founders early, tracking their progress, and supporting their growth, we will continue to have a deeper insight into the companies we invest in.

Our approach leads to better investment decisions and timing because we identify upcoming inflection points before our peers. Finally, our check size allows us to participate in highly competitive rounds as we continue to build upon our reputation as a significant value add for founders. Please don't take my word for it; listen to our founder updates recorded during our Zoom holiday party here.

This newsletter provides commentary on our portfolio founders, the broader venture ecosystem, and upcoming events. I would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to contact me at Garrett@sum.vc with any questions or feedback.